SOME PRODUCTS JUST REALLY WORK!

In my day job as an International Trade Consultant, Strategist, Mentor, or whatever other fancy label you want to apply, I encounter multiple products of varying quality from companies with various levels of knowledge, skill, and intelligence, and sometimes genius. I help companies to get their products into international markets, and my own business is supported by a team of associates whose skills cover all the financial, regulatory and legal stuff that I find so mind-numbingly boring!

So when I come across products that really, really work, that have been extremely well thought through, that look good, that are not extortionately priced, it always gives me a buzz. Locking my day job in a cupboard for now, for fear of boring the crap out of you, my love and appreciation of music has been significantly enhanced in the few months that Dr. Waldeaux have been recording Moorscape™. It has been a joy for so many reasons: working with really good friends; meeting new ones; experiencing a whole range of emotions both during and outside of recording, and being blessed by the series of happy accidents described in an earlier post. It seems we raise the bar, or change the bar in some way, every time we get together and it has given the album extra meaning and a very personal touch.

Tuesday was RECORDING DAY 9. Ali phoned me before he set off to ask what I wanted him to bring with him. “Everything” was my reply “what instruments shall I bring?”. “Everything” he replied. An hour later I collected him from Sale Metrolink station with a car full and we drove to The Fuse to record PEAT, the second song on Moorscape™. One of the many items in the instrument cases was the Thalia capo I bought myself in November. This was the first time I would use it properly, but it had already helped me to create an alternative, and completely different tune to the original song.

PEAT is about the destruction of the British moorlands by mankind, and particularly industrial pollution over the centuries. It also carries a parallel message about people who suffer from debilitating, long-term illnesses, all too frequently without the awareness and understanding of the people around them – “what is seen is understood”. The song began life as a vibrant folk song, dominated by cittern strumming, and while that sounded great it didn’t really fit the mood I was trying to create. It had to deliver a more mournful, slower atmosphere. Then one day between Christmas and New Year, I fitted my new capo to my old faithful black EKO 6-string guitar and started to pick a bluesy-folk tune, which became a strum and included jazz chords that you would not expect to work in a folk song.

Another happy Moorscape™ accident resulted in the realisation that actually the new tune could adapt well for PEAT. So I took my two tunes to RECORDING DAY 9. You always know with Ali when he has a preference for one thing over another. A look of certainty appears on his face and he generally, very quickly, says something like “that one!” and he is generally right. So I played him the vibrant cittern version first, then the slower bluesy-folk tune on the EKO and he said “that one!” We went on to record the song in just a couple of hours, with the bluesy-folk rhythm complemented by cittern lead flourishes and a spot of lead acoustic blues guitar. And do you know what? Ali was right!

Back to the day job, and I have to finish with a word or two about Thalia products. They really, really work, have been extremely well thought through, they look good, and they are not extortionately priced. They are thoughtfully packaged and give the feeling of something special, and come with a series of inserts to use across a range of stringed instruments. The company seem happy to interact with their customers, and frequently post examples of how their products are used by different musicians. I can think of a number of companies would do well to follow their example.